Former Edmonton Public School Board chairman Dave Colburn seeks Ward 7 city council seat

Ward 7 city councillor Tony Caterina will have some competition in the upcoming civic election this Fall, as former Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) chairman Dave Colburn has announced his candidacy for the mature neighbourhood he’s called home for over 25 years.

One of the key issues Colburn is campaigning on is his firm belief in keeping schools open in mature neighbourhoods.

In 2010, the EPSB voted in favour of closing five schools, McCauley, Parkdale, Fulton Place, Eastwood and Capilano schools.

This led to the board approving a two-year moratorium on school closures in November of 2010.

Colburn says the city has reached a “saturation point” with school closures, and directly correlates this pressure to close schools on the city’s aggressive expansion and development into suburban areas.

“I think it’s fair to say, and let’s call a spade a spade, sprawl does exist in Edmonton,” says Colburn. “The pace of development in the world of education in outlying areas and in the suburbs has rapidly outpaced the ability and the willingness for the province to provide new school funding.”

The pressure to close schools, and the inability to keep pace with community expectations to have new schools in newly developed areas, have identified the need to slow the pace of development and acknowledge that sprawl actually exists.”

While urban sprawl is commonly looked at as an issue for the outlying areas, Colburn insists it has impacts on the inner city as well.

An increased reliance on automobiles, which leads to an increased pressure on road use, and traffic congestion, for example, can impact an inner-city neighbourhood, says Colburn.

“I think the residents of Ward 7 would be very interested in how the issue of sprawl impacts the needs of an inner-city ward,” says Colburn.

Colburn points to council’s most recent decision to approve the Horse Hill Area Structure Plan to develop the northeast neighbourhood of the city, as a poor decision in sprawl development, particularly because of the area’s agricultural land.

“We simply can’t keep gobbling up prime agricultural land without paying a price in terms of the availability of healthy, local food,” says Colburn.

ARENA: ‘ABSOLUTELY NOT’

Without a doubt, the most highly contested issue facing our city is whether or not to construct a new downtown arena.

For Colburn, the decision is simple.

“If I was on council today and I was looking at the current deal on the table, I would absolutely not support it,” says Colburn, who admits he is an Edmonton Oilers fan but says he isn’t satisfied with the questions that still remain in regards to what will happen to Northlands if a deal is approved.

“Northlands is an important asset for the city and its a particularly important issue for Ward 7,” says Colburn.

“I think the current deal is not in the best interest of Edmontonians and in particular, the residents of Ward 7.”